Pencil lead



L. w. McCANDLESS.

PENCIL LEAD.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 12 1920.

LEWIS W. MCCANDLESS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PENCIL LEAD. v

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 'Feb, '7 1922,

Application filed April '12, 1920. Serial No. 373,078. I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Lnwis WV. MOCAND- LESS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pencil Leads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates toflcad pencils, and particularly to. a pencil lead which is formed with one or more grooves in its surface so that there is always presented a sharp corner or edge for writing purposes.

My invention pertains to leads for pencils which maybe used as renewableleads for holders or permanently secured in a lead pencil of the commercial variety.

An object of my invention is to provide a lead for pencils which will'not have to be sharpened but whichwill always present a substantially sharp point for writing purposes as it wears away in usage.

Another object is to provide a pencil lead having means for always presenting a sharp point for writing, which is accomplished by forming one or more grooves in the surface of the lead, thereby providing corners or ,points at the end of the lead as the same is worn in use. 7

A further object is to provide a lead for pencils which may be made with the minimum of expense and which will always pro-' vide a sharp point for writing purposes.

These and other objects of my invention may be observed from the drawings, in which- Figure l is a view of a metallic pencil eX- a gerated in size in which is inserted a lead embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the lead made in accordance with the preferred form of my invention; and I Figure 3 is a vertical section on line of Figure 2.

I accomplish the objects of my invention by forming oneor more grooves, preferably in spiral form, in the surface of a pencil lead, so that asthe lead is worn in use there is always presented at least one sharp corner for a point. By providing a plurality of rooves crossing one another many such c iamond-shaped pIOJGCtlOIlS are formed, presenting successive sharp corners at the end of the lead which serve as points. In the drawings a lead 5 is shown as being provided with a series of spiral grooves 6 and 7 arranged to cross one another forming a plurality of diamond-shaped portions which have the corners 8, 9, 10 and 11 there: on. It will be observed that as the lead is used in service at least one sharp corner is presented to serve as a point. By referring to Figure 3 it will be noted that six corners are presented as points, so that, as one of these is worn the pencil may be turned to employanother corner as a point. This feature is important in view of the present popularity of refillable pencils, and as a means for providing a lead for refillable pencils in which there is always presented a point for use without sharpening.

My lead is adaptable for use in all kinds of pencils, refillable, magazine and wooden or paper covered ones.

lVhile I have described more or less pre cisel the details of construction of my invention, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes inform and the proportion of parts and substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a lead for pencils provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending. grooves formed in the surface thereof, the grooves arranged to intersect to provide a plurality of successive points in the length of said lead.

2. A pencil lead having a plurality of intersecting spiralgrooves formed in the surface thereof, thereby providing a plurality of substantially diamond-shaped projections which successively present sharp edges and corners atthe end ofthe lead for serving of April, 1920.

LEWIS w, MQCANDLESS. 

